This proposal covers additional effort to a current NCHSR Grant, "Evaluation of a Hospital Data Management System" (Number: 1 R18 02777-01A1). The current effort includes the development of a model of a "typical 100 to 250 bed hospital which serves as a setting for an Automated Hospital Data Management System (AHDMS) implementation. A five Stage Growth Model, the product of a technology limit assessment describes the AHDMS. A cost-benefit evaluation assesses that impact which an AHDMS has on a "typical" hospital. Results obtained thus far in the current study have evinced strong evidence of the need for benefit standards; theoretical maximum benefits which could be derived by a "typical" hospital through the implementation of an AHDMS under ideal conditions. The availability of standards would provide important additional data for hospital decisionmakers faced with determining the cost effectiveness of implementing an AHDMS or expanding an existing system. Armed with benefit standards and the degree of success which some hospitals have had in achieving such benefits, hospital decision makers can enhance their decision-making capabilities. To project theoretical maximum benefits, an Industrial Engineering analysis will be employed to reconstruct a pre-AHDMS version of the "typical" hospital. From that frame of reference, the hospital's continuing staff and operating costs will be projected. Comparing these costs to actual costs in the "typical" hospital with an AHDMS will provide an indication of the cost containment effectiveness of an AHDMS implementation, giving added dimension to the pre- and post-AHDMS comparison being done in the current study. Undertaking this additional effort at this time will be cost effective and will enhance the overall product of the current study, making it much more valuable. Most necessary arrangements have been made ready. Results would be combined in a single report which would be the most effective format for hospital decision makers considering an AHDMS.